1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to a method for monitoring the condition of an electrical storage battery and, more particularly, to a method for determining the level of operability of an electrical storage battery that is connectable in electrical communication with a starter motor associated with an internal combustion engine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Batteries are used to provide power in many different systems that are well known to those skilled in the art. In most systems, the battery is periodically checked by measuring the nominal system voltage across the battery terminals with either no load connected to the battery or a constant load connected to the battery. This type of test can identify certain battery failure modes, but is unable to detect many other likely fault conditions relating to the battery.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,771, which issued to Buckley et al. on Aug. 14, 2001, discloses a control system for a marine vessel. The control system incorporates a marine propulsion system that can be attached to a marine vessel and connected in signal communication with a serial communication bus and a controller. A plurality of input devices and output devices are also connected in signal communication with a communication bus and a bus access manager, such as a CAN Kingdom network, is connected in signal communication with the controller to regulate the incorporation of additional devices to the plurality of devices in signal communication with the bus, whereby the controller is connected in signal communication with each of the plurality of devices on the communication bus. The input and output devices can each transmit messages to the serial communication bus for receipt by other devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,675,912, which issued to Carrier on Jan. 13, 2004, describes a dual-mode non-isolated corded system for transportable cordless power tools. The dual-mode system for inexpensively operating electrically powered double-insulated devices, such as hand-held power tools and appliances is described. A voltage converter includes an inrush current limiter and power conditioner for filtering AC or DC input power. The filtered voltage is chopped by a transformerless buck-derived converter. The chopped voltage is rectified and filtered to provide low-voltage DC power to the drive motor of the powered double-insulated device.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,459,170, which issued to Tamai et al. on Oct. 1, 2002, describes an on-board electric power supply system. A central processing unit captures an on control signal for low-voltage loads in LAN multiplex transmission, controls low-voltage switching devices to be turned on in order to supply a power to the low-voltage loads, and performs a DC supply from a low-voltage battery to the low-voltage loads. In this case, immediately after an on control signal for the low-voltage loads is captured, the CPU controls a voltage converter which is not operating, so as to be activated, thereby performing a DC supply to the low-voltage battery and the low-voltage loads.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,628,107, which issued to Bang et al. on Sep. 30, 2003, describes a power management system for a portable electronic device. A system for a supplemental power source for a handheld portable electronic device is provided. A super capacitor is connected in parallel to a main battery of the portable electronic device. When the main battery becomes disconnected, the super capacitor is used to power the portable electronic device. The super capacitor is also used to provide compensation for the internal impedance of the main battery and the path impedance between the main battery and the load.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,197, which issued to Roseman et al. on Apr. 22, 1997, describes an active control of battery charging profile by generator control unit. A system for actively controlling the charging profile of a battery uses a software-based generator control unit to control the charging voltage. The voltage may be initially reduced following battery discharge to prevent large current inrush transients. The voltage may then be raised above a normal charging level to increase the battery charging rate. The control system provides better control over battery charging and prevents overheating of the battery and generator and allows the battery to be recharged more quickly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,529, which issued Eiraku et al. on Oct. 19, 1999, describes an electronic apparatus having battery power source. A voltage monitoring circuit detects when the output battery of a power source falls below a predetermined reference voltage. A controller, in response to the monitoring circuit, performs a load operation. In the load operation, a switch in a pseudo-load circuit is operated to connect a dummy load. On the basis of the output voltage of the power source when the dummy load is operable, the controller determines whether to allow further drain on the power supply (e.g. connection of a peripheral device interface). In one embodiment, the pseudo-load circuit has plural dummy loads which can be invoked to determine with which of plural possible loads the power source can be utilized. Also disclosed are both digital and analog methods and circuits for determining utilizable load magnitude by gradually raising power supply capacity. The invention solves numerous problems, including combating an inrush current which can be produced when a card is inserted into an electronic apparatus such as a personal digital assistant.
The patents described above are hereby expressly incorporated by reference in the description of the present invention.
An application note, provided by the International Rectifier Company, which is titled “Programmable Current Sensing High-Side Switch IR3310/11/12”, describes reverse battery protection used in conjunction with the switch. Among other subjects, it considers potential damage to various components such as batteries.
In Volume 26 of “Perspective” for the winter of 2000, the College of Engineering of the University of Wisconsin at Madison published an article titled “Research Drives Battery Health.” In this article, a research project is described in which various parameters relating to a battery are monitored.
When batteries are used as a power source for a starter of an internal combustion engine, the loss of use of the battery results in the inability to operate the vehicle. If this occurs in an automobile, the operator of the automobile is required to contact a service supplier or other type of assistance to allow the automobile to be repaired or started. When this occurs in a marine vessel, the operator of the marine vessel may be far from land and unable to quickly summon assistance. Therefore, it would be significantly beneficial if a system could be developed which allows battery failure to be predicted in advance so that repair or replacement of the battery can be arranged at the convenience of the marine vessel operator. It would also be significantly beneficial if the condition of the battery could be evaluated without additional equipment and components having to be provided.